Ride
by honestlydarkprincess
Summary: Steve and Bucky both work at Shield Secondary School, simultaneously dealing with bratty high school students and falling in love. Just when it seems everything is coming together for the two, Steve's impeccable timing leads to a misunderstanding. Highschool Teachers AU.
1. It Starts With A Ride Home

**Rated for language**

Hey everyone! My friend was having a bad day so I promised him some fluffy stucky, I hope I delivered!

Enjoy!

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When Steve first started at Shield Secondary School, his first friendly-face turned first friend was Bucky Barnes. Bucky was a young Russian man with a gorgeous accent and an intellect that made Steve swoon. They got along so well, it was like they had been friends all their life. It didn't take very long for Steve to develop a huge crush on the guy, and that was three years ago. It had only gotten worse since then. Bucky was just so smart, sweet, and just really fucking attractive.

Steve sighed, and dropped his head down to his arms that were folded on the table. He really had to stop getting distracted, he was at work for gods sake. He couldn't give the students shit for not paying attention when he himself was distracted.

"Somethin' the matter, pal?" Bucky drawled out, his warm accented voice was music to Steve's ears. He felt his shoulders relax and he flashed Bucky a small smile.

"Nah Buck, I was just thinking." He replied, sitting up. Bucky dropped down to the seat next to him, they were in the teachers lounge, with a cup of coffee in his left hand and a book in Russian in his right.

"Don't think too hard, you might hurt yourself," Bucky said, chuckling to himself. He could tell Steve didn't want to talk about it, so he let it go.

"Whatever, asshole." Steve said, rolling his eyes. "What's your next class?"

"Spanish, I think," He replied, "What about you?"

"Ugh, I have seniors. I'm not sure what I'm going to have them do, but god do I hate that class." Steve said, groaning. He dropped his head back down to his arms. "They don't take the class seriously, like honestly, it's an optional course, why take it if you don't actually want to?! Like fuck, I'm have a certain curriculum to teach, I don't have time to deal with kids who just want to paint whatever they want and not even listen to me. To make matters worse, they don't even know how to paint!"

After he finished his rant it was silent. He winced and looked up at Bucky, "Shit, sorry! I didn't mean to unload on you like that."

Thankfully, Bucky didn't look mad; instead, he looked almost… _fond_. Steve pushed those thoughts away though, he didn't want to give himself hope.

"It's ok, unload all you want, pal. I've been told I'm a very good listener," Bucky grinned, waggling his eyebrows. It worked like he intended and Steve laughed, shaking his head.

"Alright, well I have to go teach the dreaded class, I'll catch you later, Buck." Steve said, standing up and gathering his stuff. He stuffed them in his bag, and with a muted salute to Bucky, he was off. He didn't look back, so he didn't see Bucky watching him go.

* * *

Later, Steve was finally done for the day and after he had collected all of his belongings, he walked out to his car and go in. He started it up and back out of the staff parking. He had only been driving for 10 minutes when he noticed someone walking on the side of the road up ahead of him. The clothing the person was wearing looked familiar and as he squinted he recognized it was Bucky. He drove up ahead and pulled up beside him, and Bucky took notice of him.

He rolled down the passenger window and leaned over to see Bucky, "Whatcya doing, Buck?"

"Oh you know, just out for a stroll," Bucky retorted, leaning down so he could see Steve through the window.

Steve rolled his eyes, "Do you want a ride home?"

"Sure." Bucky said, opening the door and slipped into the car. Bucky quickly gave Steve directions, which Steve recognized as not to far from his own apartment. It was silent for a moment, a companionable silence. It was nice.

"So, I thought you had a car?" Steve said, glancing to his right for a moment then shifting his eyes back to the road.

"I do. But the piece of shit broke down last week, so I've been using my roommate's car but he needed it today, so walking it is!" Bucky replied, shifting in his seat and getting comfortable. Steve got a warm feeling in his stomach as he saw Bucky get comfortable in his presence.

"Ahhh I see. That sucks, man." Steve said, mentally wincing. ' _That sucks? Come on, Rogers. You can do better than that._ ' Steve thought to himself.

To his luck though, Bucky just chuckled and made a sound of agreement. They sat in comfortable silence for the rest of the ride, and soon enough, Steve pulled up in front of Bucky's apartment building.

"Thanks for the ride, Steve. I really appreciate it." Bucky said softly, he seemed shy all of a sudden. Steve felt himself blush, and cleared his throat.

"It's really no problem, Bucky," He replied, "Do you- do you want a ride to work tomorrow?"

Bucky's eyes lit up, and he hid a grin as he nodded.

"That would be great, thanks Steve," He repeated, opening the door and climbing out. He shut the door and leaned down again by the still open window, it looked like he was going to say something, but he seemed to change his mind and just gave Steve a smile.

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Bucky."

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Eeeep first chapter! This is my first multi-chapter story, it's not gonna be very long, but I'm excited nonetheless!


	2. Favourite Students Are A Pain

The next morning, Steve pulled up to the same place he'd parked when he dropped Bucky off. He was clutching his coffee tumbler close to his chest, taking sips every now and then. With each sip he felt more and more awake. Hopefully by the time he finished what was left in the mug, he wouldn't feel like a zombie anymore. He had been up late last night, which he now realized was a huge mistake. He had been…distracted, to say the least.

The whole way home he'd been distracted with thoughts of Bucky. Stupid, beautiful Russians, and their stupidly sexy accents. He couldn't stop thinking about how perfect Bucky was. He was exactly his type, and it was just his luck that he had to fall in love with someone so out of his league. Steve knew objectively he was attractive, but he just couldn't see someone like Bucky, so beautiful and so _fucking_ smart, being attracted to him. Steve shook himself out of his self-deprecating thoughts, and just in time, because when he looked up, Bucky was walking towards the car with a bright smile on his face. ' _Fuck, he's so beautiful in the morning'_ Steve sighed to himself. He unlocked the doors, and smiled as Bucky got in and put on his seatbelt.

"Mornin' Steve," Bucky said brightly, entirely too chipper for the early hour. Steve longed to see what Bucky was like when he had just woken up, he couldn't help but think he'd be adorable. All sleepy and soft. Once again, Steve shook himself from his thoughts, damn he needed to stop getting lost in thought.

"Good morning, Buck," Steve replied, as he pulled away from the curb. Much like the ride home yesterday, the ride to work was filled with companionable silence. It was nice, peaceful. Steve loved that they could just sit quietly together, he didn't feel any pressure to fill the silence with awkward small talk, like he felt with other people.

They arrived at the high school, and after exiting the car, they walked together to the staff room entrance. It was late enough that enough students had already arrived, and were either waiting outside in groups with their friends or walking inside the high school. A couple people stopped and stared when they saw Bucky and Steve getting out of the same car, and though Steve couldn't hear them, he knew they were whispering to each other. He decided to ignore it however after a quick glance to Bucky proved that he hadn't seen the students. It's not like anything was going to come out of it anyway, he was sure the students would forget about it in 5 minutes.

He was wrong.

* * *

"So, Mr. Rogers, is the gossip true? I hear you were seen getting out of the same car as Mr. Barnes this morning," Tony Stark, one of Steve's students, teased. Class had just let out for lunch period, and Tony had stayed behind. He was leaning against Steve's desk with his arms crossed and a ridiculous look on his face.

Steve huffed and ignored the boy, who happened to be his favourite student. He also ignored the hot blush he could feel spreading across his cheeks. He was hoping that if he just ignored the situation, it would go away. This particular technique had never worked with Tony before, but there was a first for everything, right?

"Come on, Mr. Rogers, I'm your favourite student!" Tony said, grinning. He was bouncing on the balls of his feet, looking like 5'4" of pure energy. Steve looked up, and sighed.

"Okay, yes you heard right," He mumbled, moving to flop down in his chair at his desk.

"I knew it!" Tony cheered, pulling a chair up and sitting opposite to Steve. "So you finally pulled your head outta your ass and asked him out, eh?"

Steve gave him a look for his choice of words, but his heart wasn't really in it. Tony was the only student who could talk to him like that.

"No," Steve sighed, looking dejected. The triumphant look dropped from Tony's face, replaced with a look of confusion.

"Wait, what?" Tony asked, his eyebrows knitted together.

"His car broke down last week, and yesterday I saw him walking home. So I offered him a ride home, then offered to drive him to work this morning." Steve explained, his internal feelings matching the look of disappointment on Tony's face.

Tony was quiet for a moment, then "I'm sorry Steve, I know how much you like him." he said softly.

Steve waved him off, and tried for a nonchalant shrug, failing miserably. He looked down and played with his fingers for a moment, but he could feel Tony's gaze still on his face.

"You know…" Tony started, hesitantly, "He likes you back."

Steve's head shot up, locking eyes with Tony.

"How do you know that?" Steve said, barely able to keep the hope out of voice.

"Pffft, Mr. Rogers, it's incredibly obvious." He scoffed, "You should see the way he stares at you. It's entirely unprofessional." He teased with a wink.

Steve's blush returned and this time he couldn't keep the hope from his thoughts. Was there really a chance that Bucky could like him back? Fuck, he felt like he was in high school all over again. Eventually he shooed Tony off to go eat lunch, but what Tony had said stuck with him for the rest of the day, dominating his thoughts.

* * *

Similarly, in the Languages room, Bucky was having the same experience as Steve, however his favourite student happened to be Natalia "Natasha" Romanova, a young Russian transfer student, who Bucky had taken under his wing her first year at Shield Secondary. It was nice having someone to talk to in his native tongue, especially since he preferred to speak Russian when he got the choice.

" _So, what's this I hear about you and Mr. Rogers?_ " Natasha asked, slyly. Bucky looked up from the paper he was marking with wide eyes and a bright blush.

" _W-What? What did you hear?_ " Bucky exclaimed, he hoped that Steve didn't hear whatever rumours were floating around. He didn't want Steve to be uncomfortable.

" _Well, there are several theories,_ " Natasha replied, looking amused.

" _Natalia,_ " Bucky growled out, he normally was all for the teasing banter, but right now he really wanted to know what people were saying about him and Steve.

Natasha rolled her eyes, " _Okay, okay…well the rumour is that you and Mr. Rogers are sleeping together. You arrived in the same car, and everyone knows you're in love with each other._ "

" _W-What?!_ " Bucky sputtered, his first instinct was to deny it, but he knew that it was pointless to deny his feelings for Steve to Natasha, she was too good at reading him.

" _You're in love with Mr. Rogers. Honestly, Barnes. It's completely obvious. You should see the lovesick looks you send each other when you think the other isn't looking. It's truly painful to watch._ " Natasha stated teasingly, looking at Bucky like he was dumb for not knowing.

" _Fuck._ " He had thought he had been subtle. Sure he had been in love with the guy since they'd become friends all those years ago, but Steve had never shown any signs of reciprocating, and the last thing he wanted to do was make Steve uncomfortable with his feelings. So he hid them, apparently not well enough.

" _Is it really that obvious?_ " He asked, miserably.

" _Who knows, maybe it's just obvious to me. I mean it wasn't until today that I heard the students say anything, so maybe it's just because I know you so well._ " Natasha reassured him, taking pity on him.

Bucky just groaned and hid his blushing face in his arms.

" _Well, on the bright side, Mr. Rogers is in love with you too,_ " Natasha said, casually.

Bucky's head whipped back to stare at her.

" _How do you know?_ " Bucky asked, ever suspicious.

" _You know Tony Stark? The tiny Italian genius? He's Steve's favourite student. We're friends. We talk sometimes._ " She replied, like it was no big deal.

Bucky stared at her as he tried to take in all this new information, and she stared back patiently. After a minute, he visibly deflated and sighed.

" _Man, I hope you're right,_ " He whispered, it was impossible to keep the hope out of his voice.

" _I'm always right,_ " She replied, with a playful arrogance. Bucky gave her a grateful smile, then his eyes took on a mischievous glint.

" _So, tell me about this Stark kid…_ " He teased, but she just rolled her eyes.

" _Oh please, he's totally in love with that science nerd Banner,_ " She said, not unkindly. Bucky could hear fondness in her voice.

" _If you say so,_ " Bucky conceded, glad that the conversation had been diverted. He knew that she knew he was avoiding further discussion on the Steve topic, and was incredibly grateful that she just went along with it.

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 **Reviews are very welcome!**


	3. Bad Timing Misunderstandings

Steve continued giving Bucky rides home for the rest of the week, and expected it to continue but on Friday, Bucky told him that his car had been fixed and he could be fine driving himself again. Steve couldn't help but be disappointed, but he hoped it didn't show. He hadn't stopped thinking about his conversation with Tony, yet he had been content to ignore it in favour of enjoying the car rides.

The next day, Steve spent half the day thinking and convincing himself both to do it and talking himself out of it. In the end, however, he decided to go to Bucky's and tell him about his feelings. He wasn't sure he believed Tony, he still had this feeling that Bucky didn't really feel that way about him. But he was willing to try, he wanted to be proven wrong; just wanted Bucky to like him back.

After second, third, and fourth thoughts, a brief panic attack, and a shot of vodka, Steve was ready to go. He drove over to Bucky's apartment and punched in his room number to be buzzed in. It only took a few moments, but then he was walking up the stairs and arriving at Bucky's door. He'd only been up there once when Bucky had needed a hand bringing up some boxes for school a couple days ago.

He knocked before he could chicken out, and anxiously waited for Bucky to answer it. It took longer than he had expected, and just when he was about to leave, the door opened.

However, it wasn't Bucky who opened the door.

Instead, an attractive black man, still dripping from the shower, opened the door in a towel. It took Steve a moment to realize he was just staring, and the man was waiting for him to say something.

"Shit, sorry I think I have the wrong apartment. I thought this was Bucky Barnes apartment?" He said, softly, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand in a nervous gesture.

"Nah, man, this is the right one. Bucky lives here. Are you a friend of his?" The man asked, looking him up and down. Shit, this must be Bucky's boyfriend. Steve paled, and ignored the look of concerned that took over the man's face.

"Are you ok, you don't look so good?" He asked, moving like he was about to take a step forward. That snapped Steve out of his daze.

"I'm okay, I just- I need to go. Sorry." Steve rushed out, nodding to the man and walking towards the stairs as fast he could without tripping.

He made it to his car before the tears came, and he let them fall as he drove away as quick as possible. How could he have been so stupid? Of course Bucky had a boyfriend. Not to mention the man was beautiful, Bucky deserved someone like him.

Self-deprecating thoughts continued to plague him until he got home and stumbled into his apartment. He grabbed the earlier discarded bottle of vodka and flopped onto his couch. Eventually he fell asleep helped along by alcohol and emotional exhaustion.

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 **Sorry this chapter was so short, unfortunately, I don't see them getting longer lol**


	4. Strange, Yet Plausible, Theories

After that, Steve started avoiding Bucky. It wasn't too noticeable at first, stuttered excuses and claims of being busy; given that it getting to be report card time, Bucky didn't think to much of it. But when it continued for weeks and showed no signs of stopping, Bucky began to get confused.  
Had he done something? He thought things had been going well between them, he racked his brain but couldn't come up with anything that could have resulted in the avoidance he was on the receiving end of.

The longer Steve avoided him, the more hopeless Bucky started to feel. He wanted things to go back to the way they were. Yeah, maybe Steve would never want him the way Bucky wanted him, but he wished they could at least be friends. But now, Steve wouldn't even make eye contact with him.

Bucky knew that the logical solution would be to try to talk to Steve and work out their differences like mature adults, yet it seemed that Bucky had been reverted back to a teenager, and instead chose to mope around.

Finally, Sam, his best friend and roommate, had had enough.

"Okay, you've been like this for at least a week. What's going on?" He asked, unable to hide the concern in his voice.

Bucky just groaned in reply. He didn't feel like talking, all he wanted was _Steve_.

"It's either you tell me, with words, or I pour water on your face until you've had enough." Sam threatened, now even more concerned.

Bucky sighed, but resigned himself to the talk he was about to have.

"Steve's avoiding me." He mumbled, he folded his legs under himself and hugged a pillow close to his body.

"I'm sorry, man. Steve's the one you're hopelessly in love with, right?" He asked, though he was pretty sure he knew the answer.

Bucky groaned again, this time in embarrassment. Jesus, did everyone know he was in love with the man?

"Yes," He muttered, finally.

"Do you know why?" Sam asked, always one to get straight to the point.

"Don't you think if I knew that I would be finding a way to fix whatever I did and have him not avoid me anymore?!" Bucky snapped, he wasn't really angry, he was just upset that he didn't know why Steve was upset.

Sam, bless his heart, remained patient and understanding, used to dealing with Bucky's outbursts. He waited until Bucky was ready to talk, having found that that was the best way to get Bucky to say what he was really thinking.

"I just…I thought things were going good between us, ya know? Sometimes it even seemed like he was flirting back and I guess I just let myself hope." Bucky mumbled, miserably.

"Stupid muscly blondes, ugh why are they always blonde," Bucky groaned out, dramatically flopped down on the couch.

"Wait, you said he was a blonde? Does he have blue eyes, looks like a brick house but has a general puppy vibe?" Sam asked, a weird tone in his voice.

"Yeah," Bucky replied, wistfully, only half listening.

"Man, I think this Steve guy showed up here, and it was right in the middle of my shower and you weren't home so I had to answer the door in a towel. He looked like he was expecting someone else. I think he panicked when I told him that it was the right apartment, and that I lived here too." Sam said, speaking slowly.

Bucky froze.

"Y-You don't think…what does he think you're my boyfriend or something?" Bucky asked, trying to squash the hope that had risen in him with this almost impossible but strangely plausible explanation.

Sam and Bucky just looked at each other for a moment, before Bucky let out a soft 'fuck' and sprung up from the couch. He rushed around, putting on his shoes, grabbing his hoodie and his keys.

"Good luck, dude!" Sam yelled after him as he rushed out the door, down the stairs, and towards his newly fixed car.

It was a quick drive over to Steve's apartment and for all of his gusto getting there, he found once he was in front of Steve's door, he got nervous.

He took a deep breath, and knocked.

* * *

 **Review?**


	5. Fucking Finally

When Steve heard the knock on his door, he looked up from the sketch he was working on. He stared at the door curiously for a moment, before he remembered he was supposed to be answering it. He didn't get many visitors at his apartment, so he had no idea who it could be. Not having anticipated any reason to, he hadn't changed out of his weekend comfy clothes that consisted of black sweat pants and a white tank top. He regretted his attire when he opened the door and saw Bucky standing there, looking effortlessly beautiful in tight black jeans and a soft, grey Henley.

They stood at the door in silence for a brief moment, Steve in shock at seeing Bucky at his door, and Bucky in awe of how cute and cuddle-ready Steve looked.

"Bucky, what are you doing here?" Steve questioned, once he found his voice.

"Why are you avoiding me?" And there it was, the question Steve didn't want to answer. He knew Bucky would ask him eventually, but it still took him by surprise.

"A-Avoiding you?" Steve tried for innocent, yet from the look on Bucky's face, he failed miserably. His shoulders dropped and he sighed; he opened the door wider, indicating for Bucky to come in.

Bucky walked in, taking a quick glance of his surroundings. However, he quickly focused his attention on Steve, who was awkwardly standing by the couch, looking like he was trying fold in on himself to make himself look smaller. It wasn't working.

Bucky took a deep breath and decided it was all or nothing.

"I'm in love with you." He said, impressed with himself that his words came out strong and even.

Steve's eyes widened and a small gasp left his lips, clearly that was not what he had been expecting to hear. Bucky nervously waited for Steve to say something, anything. His hope sky rocketed when he saw the look of pure happiness that crossed Steve's face.  
"But wait, what about your boyfriend?" Steve said, eyes hardening. No matter how much he wanted Bucky, he wouldn't get in the middle of a relationship.

"Boyfriend? I don't have a boyfriend." Bucky said, brow furrowed. A look of realization crossed his face and he remembered what Sam had said. "Shit, no, Steve he's not my boyfriend."

"He's not?" Steve asked, soft voice full of desperate hope. A tender look crossed Bucky's face and he stepped closer to Steve.

"No, babe, Sam's my best friend and my roommate," Bucky said lowly, his use of the endearment went unnoticed by him, but not by Steve.

Steve closed his eyes, "Fuck, I remember you saying something about having a roommate. Shit."

Bucky looked at him for a second before making a split second decision and surging forward, grabbing Steve's face and pulling him into a soft, yet rough kiss. Steve froze, then melted into the kiss, wrapping his arms around his neck and pulling him closer.

They kissed for what seemed like hours, before Bucky pulled away, cradling Steve's face in his big hands. Steve whimpered as they separated, clinging to Bucky.

"Fucking, finally."

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 **It's done! Thank you to everyone who read this! *smooches***


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